Virtual IP (vIP)

Virtual IP or vIP is a fixed IP address that is automatically associated with the Primary MDC to provide a static IP address for replication and deduplication access to the target server in an HA cluster, and for access to the blockpool.

Following are some general requirements for vIP addresses as they apply to HA:

• The vIP should be static (currently StorNext supports only static IP for HA).
• The NIC should have a physical IP address assigned.
• The vIP should be a real and unique IP address.
• The vIP should be reachable by other nodes, and you should also be able to reach other nodes from the vIP address. For this reason, Quantum recommends that the vIP address be on the same subnet of the physical IP address of the same NIC.

When the NIC is also involved in multilink communication, the following additional requirement applies:

• The grouping address (taking the first configured maskbits of the IP address) of the physical and vip IPs on the same NIC should be the same, and unique on the node.

Your local Network Administrator should provide a reserved IP address and netmask for this purpose.

For more information about multiple-NIC configurations, see Configuring Multiple NICs.